Conventional dishwashers have a washing chamber in which upper and louver racks are movably mounted. The racks typically are a lattice structure adapted to hold items such as dishes, plates, glasses, cups, pots and pans for washing within the chamber. The racks are rollably or slidably supported on the side walls of the dishwasher so as to be forwardly movable to a position substantially outside the washing chamber for easy loading and unloading of the items. One of the racks normally has a silverware basket mounted or formed therein for holding knives, forks and spoons.
Some silverware baskets have a compartment for holding small items, such as baby bottle nipples and caps, small lids, and similar objects which cannot be held in place in the lattice structure of the racks. Some silverware baskets provide a lid for closing the compartment. Such lids normally are pivotally mounted upon the basket for movement between an open position providing access to the compartment and a closed position closing the compartment. However, these lids are awkward to move between the open and closed positions, and tend to fall from the open to the closed position. Also, since the lid extends substantially above the upper edge of the basket when in the open position, it is easy to accidently knock the lid from the open to the closed position. Furthermore, if the compartment is left open during the wash cycle, the height of the lid above the edge of the basket tends to partially block the spray of water onto silverware and other items contained in the basket.